Wire-laying machine



Feb. 24, 1953 G. w. BELL WIRE-LAYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June25, 1949 Feb. 24, 1953 G. w. BELL WIRE-LAYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed June 25, 1949 [17 VET? T02" (fed/ya VB6 ZZ by E 7 H2735 Feb. 24,1953 e. w. BELL WIRE-LAYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 25, 1949fn V517 ZUP GEO/ye W519i! MM patented Feb. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE WIRE -LAYING MACHINE George W. Bell, Sterling, 111., assignor toNorthwestern Steel and Wire Company, Sterling, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Application June 23, 1949, Serial No. 100,941

12 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in Wire laying machines, and moreparticularly relates to such a machine in which the coiled wire may beremoved without stopping operation of the machine.

Heretofore, wire drawing machines have been provided with coiling blocksat the discharge end of the machine, upon which a finished wire iscoiled. These machines and coiling blocks, however, have been soarranged that the machine must be stopped, to remove the coiled wirefrom the block, or else provision must be made for stor-- ing the wireduring the removal of one coil from the block and the connecting of theend of the finished wire thereto, to permit the ceiling of additionalwire on the block. While the time required to snip the wire and removethe coil from the block and twist the leading end of the wire from themachine onto the block for winding additional wire thereon is only amatter of seconds, where a skilled operator is on the machine, thestopping of the entire machine, even for this short time, disrupts thedrawing operation, and the storing of the wire in the form of a loopwhile shipping and removing the wire from the block and connecting theleading end of the wire thereto is frequently a source of difficulty, inthat the wire is likely to become tangled, resulting in stopping of themachine until the tangled wire can be out. The device of my presentinvention has as its object to overcome these difficulties by soarranging the coiling block that the wire may be continuously coiledthereon and removed therefrom with out stopping operation of the machineand Without making it necessary to store the drawn wire while removingthe coiled wire therefrom.

My invention has as its principal object to provide a simplified form ofwire-laying machine of a novel and simplified construction so arrangedthat the coiled wire may be removed therefrom without stopping operationof the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wire-laying machinecharacterized by its ability to lay coiled wire on a receiving reelwithout stopping operation of the machine or the coiling operation, andby its ability of permitting the removal of the reel with the coiledwire thereon, for insertion of another empty reel without stopping thecoiling operation.

A more particular object of my invention is to provide a wire-layingdevice of a novel and simplified construction having a rotatable windingmember which lays the wire on a ceiling block, and having a coiltransferring means forminga continuation of the coiling block andextending therefrom toward the ground, to guide and discharge the coiledwire from the coiling block beyond the end thereof byeravity.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide an improvedwire-laying machine in which the coiling block is pivotally movable withrespect to the winding member about an axis parallel to the axis of.rotation of the winding member, and wherein a coil transferring meansextends from the coiling block and is directed toward the ground, todischarge the coiled wire unto a wire receiving reel, which block andreel are so arranged that the reel coiled with the wire may be removedwithout stopping the reeling operation, by pivotal movement of said coiltransferring means about a horizontal axis effected by engagement ofsaid coil transferring means with said reel, during removal thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide wire-laying deviceincluding a rotatably driven winding member and a ceiling blockextending therefrom and having an open coil transferring and guidingframe leading therefrom and directed to discharge the coiled wirebeyond. the end of said coiling block toward the ground, and having astopping means on said frame selectively operable to permit the wire tocoil thereagainst or to permit the wire to pass thereby for dischargeinto the ground, and movable along said frame as a predetermined amountof wire builds up thereagainst to regulate the size of the coil on saidblock;

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time asthe following speciilcation proceeds and with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1' is a' view in side elevation of a wire drawing machineshowinga wire-laying device constructed in accordance with my inventionat the discharge end thereof;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view in side eleva tion of the wire-layingdevice drawn to a reduced scale showing how a'reel of coiled wire may beremoved therefrom withoutstopping the machine or the coiling operation;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the discharge end of the wire-laying machineshown in Figure 1;

standable'.

The wire drawing machine includes generally a plurality of wire drawingdie blocks ll mounted in die block supports I2 and I3, 53 spaced along amain frame or table I4, the die block support [2 being at the enteringend of the machine, and there being a plurality of die block supportsI3, l3 spaced along the machine. Each die block ll is of a conventionaldesign well known in the art, and said die blocks have successivelysmaller wire drawing apertures (not shown) from the entering to thefinishing end of the machine, so as to effect successive reduction inthe diameter of the wire i5 traveling through the machine. Immediatelyin front of the first die block support 12, and immediately behind eachof the succeeding die block supports, there is provided a reel or drumi6 around which the wire is wrapped and trained upwardly therefrom overa guide pulley IT. From thence the wire is trained angularly downwardlyand forwardly under a guide pulley l9 mounted on a die block support I3and guiding the wire to the die blocks therein. Each of these reels ispower driven and each advance reel may be driven at a progressivelyincreasing speed, to compensate for elongation of the wire during thedrawing operation, and to provide a uniform tension on thewire from theinitial to the final drawing operation. The drive connections to saiddrums are not herein shown or described, since they are no part of mypresent invention.

The unreduced wire is fed to the drawing machine from a suitable reelthrough the first die block support [2 and to the first die block H, asshown in Figure 1. It is then trained around the first reel l6, forseveral turns, and upwardly therefrom over the guide pulley H anddownwardly through the next succeeding die block and around the nextroll [6 and upwardly therefrom, and downwardly through the nextsucceeding die block. The wire is trained in the manner just describedto and through the last die block and around a reel i8 at the dischargeend of the machine like the reels l6, [6. From thence the wire istrained upwardly and around a guide sheave on the upper end of astandard 2! and downwardly therefrom around an angularly disposed guidesheave 22 on the upper end of a standard 23, extending upwardly from theframe [4 and disposed at a transverse angle with re-- spect thereto, toposition said guide sheave to guide the wire [5 diagonally across saidframe 14. The wire is then trained around a guide sheave 24 at theopposite side of the machine from the reel [8 and spaced in advance ofsaid reel.

The guide sheave 24 is journaled on a spindle 25, herein shown as beingthreaded in the upper end of a support block 26, and disposed at anangle to said block, to mount said sheave 25 at the angle of downwardinclination of the wire- I5 as it crosses the machine from the guidesheave 20 to said guide sheave 24 (see Figure 6). The groove of saidsheave 24 is herein shown as. being in alignment with the axial centerof a, hollow transverse shaft 2'! to train the wire therethrough, fromwhich it may be trained laterally to a winding member 28, rotatablydriven by said shaft. Said support block 26 is slidably mounted in apair of facing channeled guides 29--29 extending transversely of theframe and mounted thereon. A tension spring 30 is con-- nected at one ofits ends to a yoke 3i secured to and extending from the guides 29, 29and at its. opposite end to the support block 26, as shown in Figures 3and 4, to urge said guide sheave in a.

shaft.

4 direction away from the hollow shaft 2? and maintain tension on thewire I5.

The hollow shaft 2'! extends transversely of the frame and is journaledthereon in laterally spaced bearing boxes 33--33, mounted on andextending upwardly from said frame. Said shaft, as herein shown, extendsbeyond the opposite side of said frame from the guide sheave 24 and hasa hub 34 of the winding member 28 secured thereto for rotationtherewith. Said winding member, as herein shown, has a winding disk 35extending from said shaft, with a winding sheave 36 mounted to extendacross the periphery thereof and guide the wire from one side of saiddisk to the other, for winding on a coiling block 37, journaled on theouter end of the shaft 21. The wire is trained from the guide sheave 24through the center of the hollow shaft 21' to a point adjacent thewinding disk 35. From thence it is trained outwardly around a guidesheave 38 extending within registered slotted portions 39a and 40 ofsaid hub 34 and transverse shaft 2l, respectively, and having its groovein alignment with the axial center of said (See Figure 5.) Said shaft ismounted on a spindle 39, supported at its end in support blocks 4!, Msecured to a flattened portion of the hub 34 and on opposite sides ofthe slotted portion 39a thereof. From said guide sleeve 38 the wire I5is trained radially outwardly around a guide sheave 44 extendingparallel to the disk 35 and rotatably mounted on a spindle 45 secured toand extending from the side of said disk adjacent the frame [4, andhereinafter called the inner side of said disk. From said last-mentionedguide sheave, the wire is trained across the inner side of said windingdisk to and around the guide sheave 38 straddling the periphery of thedisk 35 of the winding member 28, and to the block 31, to which its freeend may be attached. The guide sheave 36 is journaled on a spindle 48,secured to and extending from a support bracket 50, herein shown asbeing secured to the inner face of the winding disk 35 and extendingoutwardly from said winding disk at an acute angle to the peripherythereof, to position said guide sheave 36 to guide the wire over theperiphery of said winding disk from one side to the other, to thecoiling block 3?, to which the free end of said wire may be attached andcoiled thereon, upon rotatable movement of said winding disk 35 andguide sheave 36.

The transverse shaft 21 is driven from a motor 54 herein shown as beingmounted above the die blocks II on a frame structure 55 extendingupwardly from the frame [4. Said motor drives a driving member 56 of aclutch 57 through a chain and sprocket drive indicated generally byreference character 58. Said driving member of said clutch is journaledon a transverse shaft 59, which is suitably journaled at its ends in theframe l4 beneath the shaft 21. A driven clutch member 50 is connected tosaid shaft 56 and is engaged with said clutch member 56 for selec-'tively driving the shaft by means of a yoke 6i operated by a suitablesystem of links and levers (not shown) for selectively driving saidshaft. Said clutch 5'! may be of any well known form .such as iscommonly used to selectively drive one member from another, and is nopart of my present invention, so is not herein shown or described indetail. A chain and sprocket drive 63 serves to drive a parallel shaft64 from the shaft 59 and herein shown as forming the drive shaft for thereel [8 of the wire drawing machine. The shaft 21 may be driven at sucha speed as will v drive the winding disk 35.

hub on the projecting end of the transverse charge to the ground bytransferring means is herein shown as being an tiara 5,. member 28 and ting sheave, 36 at the speed of travel of the wire as it, leaves saidroll I8 by means of a chain and sprocket drive 65.

The coiling block 31 is shown as being of drum-like construction havinga web 66 extending from a hub 67! thereof and having a flanged portion89 extending perpendicularly to said web. Said flanged portion has aninclined or frustoconical outerface l0, inclined downwardly to thedischarge end of said block, at a relatively flat angle. A retainingflange H is provided at the inner side of said block, adjacent thewinding Said coiling block is journaled on its hollow shaft El on spacedbearing members 72'l2 and is retained on said shaft by means of a collar'13 secured to the outer end thereof by a pin U5. The coiling block 31is thus mounted on the projecting end of the hollow shaft 2? to permitsaid shaft to freely rotate with respect thereto, or to permit saidcoiling block to pivotally move about said shaft.

A. coil transferring means is provided to guide and transfer the coiledwire laid on said coiling block by the winding member for dis-- gravity.Said coil open framework extending from the outer side of, said coilingblock in substantial alignment with the periphery thereof, and curvingdownwardly therefrom toward the ground. Said open framework may beformed in various ways, but is herein shown as being formed from aplurality of stakes 16, T1 and i8 extending from and mounted in theflange 69 of said coiling block (see Figure 4), The leading end of thewire may be twisted around one of said stakes, preferably the stake 18,to permit the rotatable disk 35 and sheave 36 to coil the wire on theupper part of said coil transferring means and block in an obvi'ousmanner. Each of said stakes extends outwardly from said coiling blockand forms a continuation of the outer surface thereof and then is curveddownwardly toward the ground, the stake l6 being closest to the groundbeing the shortest and curving about a smaller radius than the stakes H,Ti and 18, and the stakes H, I!

being of the same length and curving about the same radius to form aneven downwardly curving continuation of said coiling block to guide thecoiled wire therefrom to the ground. The lower ends of said stakes aremounted in a spider all of a substantially annular form to receive theupper end of a wire storing reel 8|. Said stakes are so mounted in saidspider that their outer sides are flush with the outer side of saidspider to permit the coiled wire to freely pass thereby onto said reel81.

The reel at is herein shown as being of well known form of wire storingreel, such as is commonly used to store and transport coiled wire isconnected to a stake 86,. of sa d ,reel I adjacent the upper endthereof, to move said reel along the slide rails 82 and at the same timelift it upwardly. Slidable and lifting movement of said reel along saidslide rails will cause pivotal movement of the coil transfer means 15and the coiling block 3'! about the axis of the shaft 2.? as said reelengages the inside of the spider to. This will allow said reel to clearitself of said coiling block and coil transferring means and be liftedupwardly from the pit 83.

In a like manner, an empty reel may readily be placed beneath the spiderB0 in registry with the open portion thereof to receive and store thecoiled wire without stopping the machine, by lowering said reel onto therails 82, 82 and sliding it therealong toward said spider 80, and bypivoting said coiling block about the axis of the shaft 2'4, byengagement of said reel with said spider, until said reel is in registrywith the open portion of said spider, at which time said spider andcoiling block will pivot downwardly to the position shown in Figure 4.Said.

reel will then be in position to have the coiled wire stored thereon.

A stop 87 is herein shown as being pivotally mounted on the upper guidsstake T8 for movement into position to be abutted by the wire being laidon the coiling block 31, to hold the wire on said block and thetransferring means l5, until the desired amount of wire has been coiledthereon. Said stop, as herein shown, is formed from two similar membershaving outwardly curved inner ends 88, 8'8 curved to fit partiallyaround the stake. l8, and clamped thereto, as by a nut and bolt 89extending therethrough. Said stop is. thus held to said stake by thefrictional resistancev of the curved ends 83, 38 thereagainst. Said stopmay be turned to projectv outwardly from the stake 18 by hand, to permitthe wire to be laid thereagainst, and to build up to the required sizeagainst said stop. As, however, the force exerted by the wire againstsaid stop becomes greater than the resistance between said stop and thestake 18, said stop will gradually move downwardly along said stake andpermit the wire being: coiled to build up on said coil transferringmeans until said stop 8! is turned inwardly to the position shown inFigure 4', to permit the coiled wire toslide downwardly along the coiltransferring means 15 onto the reel 8|. The leading end of the wire maythen be snipped or twisted from its connection to one of the stakes ofthe coil transferring means and the coil of wire may. then slide alongsaid coil transferring means onto the reel at. As the coil is beingtransferred along said coil transferring means, the operator alsosnipsthe trailing end thereof and wraps the leading end of the nextsucceeding coil of wire onto one of the ter of the hollow shaft 21 andradially. outwardly therefrom around the guidesheave 38 to a pointadjacent; the outer, end of the winding disk 35 aroundthe guidesheavefl, across said disk and around the winding sheave 36; straddlingthe periphery of said disk, to the coiling block 31. The free end ofsaid wire may then be attached to one of the stakes of the coiltransferring means '15, preferably the stake 18, by twisting the end ofthe wire therearound. The machine may then be started, rotatablemovement of the winding disk 35 and sheave 36 coiling the wire about thehorizontal portions of the guide stakes of said coil transferring meansand along the frustoconical periphery of the coiling block 31, it beingunderstood that as the wire is attached to one of said guide stakes, thestop 81 is moved to the outwardly extended position shown by dottedlines in Figure 4. The coiling operation may be continued by rotatablemovement of said winding disk 35 and sheave 36 about said coiling block31, the reaction caused by the weight of the depending portions of thecoil transfer and guiding means being suflicient to hold said coilingblock from turning with said winding disk 35 and to provide sufficientresistance to enable the wire to be coiled on said coiling block withthe desired tension Without tangling. When the required amount of wirehas been wound on said coiling block against the stop 81, said stop maythen be turned inwardly to the position shown in Figure 4 to permit thewire to move downwardly along said coil transferring means onto the reel8|. As the wire moves downwardly along said coil transferring means, theleading and trailing ends thereof are cut, and the end of the Wiretrained from the winding sheave 36 may be twisted around the stake 18 tooffer resistance thereto and permit said winding disk 35 to lay anothercoil of wire thereon, the stop 81 being turned to the outwardly extendedposition shown by dotted lines in Figure 4, when the coil has beencompletely removed from said coiling block and transferring means bygravity.

It may be seen from the foregoing that a novel form of wire-laying orcoiling machine associated with the discharge end of a wire drawingmachine has been provided, which permits continuous operation of thewire drawing machine as the coiled wire is removed from the coilingblock.

It may further be seen that the coiled wire may be removed from coilingblock by gravity onto a wire storing reel at the discharge end of thecoil transfer means directed from the coiling block toward the ground,and that this full reel may be removed to replace an empty reeltherebeneath, Without stopping the mechanism, by sliding the reellaterally and turning the coil transferring means about the axis of ahollow shaft 21 out of registry with the reel, by engagement of the reelwith the coil transferring means, without stopping operation of themachine.

It may further be seen that a novel form of stop against which thecoiled wire may be built upon the coiling block has been provided, whichmoves downwardly along the coil transferring means as the weight of thewire on the coiling block exceeds the friction resistance offered bysaid stop against said transferring means, and permits a coil of anydesired size to be built up on said coiling block and coil transferringmeans, and also avoids the tendency of the coiled wire to fall from saidcoiling block and to tangle, during the coiling operation, in caseswhere the machine may be unattended for one reason or another, and makesit possible to coil amounts of wire on the coiling block and coiltransferring 8 means in excess of the capacity of the block wheredesired or necessary.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil, a windingmember journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, means forrotatably driving said winding member, a guide member mounted on saidwinding member and having the wire trained thereabout and guiding thewire from one side of said winding mem- ;ber to the other and laying thewire on the other side of said winding member in the form of a coil uponrotation of said winding member, a coiling block extending from theother side of said winding member and underlying said guide member inposition to have the wire coiled thereon by said winding member, andcoil transferring means extending from and forming a continua- .tion ofsaid coiling block and directed at an :angle with respect thereto towardthe ground to guide and discharge the coiled wire from said coilingblock beyond the end thereof by gravity.

2. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil, a windingmember journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, power means forrotatably driving said winding member, a guide member mounted on saidwinding member and extending from one side thereof to the other to guidethe wire from one side of said winding member and lay the wire in a coilon the other side thereof, an axially disposed coiling block extendingfrom the other side of said winding member and underlying said guidemember in position to have the wire coiled thereon by retatable movementof said winding member, and coil transferring means extending from saidcoiling block and including an open framework of outside dimensionssubstantially equal to the inside diameter of the coil on said block andsecured to and forming a continuation of said coiling block and directedtherefrom toward the ground at an angle with respect to said coilingblock, to guide and discharge the coiled wire from said coiling blockbeyond the end of said coil transferring means by gravity.

3. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil, a windingmember journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, power means forrotatably driving said winding member, guide means on said windingmember extending from one side thereof to the other side and guiding andlaying the wire in a coil, an axially disposed coiling block extendingfrom the other side of said winding member and having a receiving endaligned with said guide means to have the wire coiled thereon by saidwinding member and guide means upon rotatable movement thereof, and coiltransferring means extending from said coiling block and including anopen framework of outside dimensions substantially equal to the insidediameter of the coil and secured to said coiling block and forming acontinuation thereof, said open framework extending outwardl from saidcoiling block and uniformly curving with respect thereto toward theground and having a discharge end facing the ground, to guide anddischarge the coiled wire from said coiling block to the ground bygravity.

4. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil, a windingmember journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, power means forrotatably driving said winding member, said winding member having guidemeans mounted thereon and extending from one side thereof to the otherto lay the wire on the other side of said winding member in the form ofa coil upon rotation of said winding member, an axially disposed coilingblock extending from the other side of said winding member in axialalignment therewith and underlying said guide means in position to havethe wire coiled thereon by said winding member, coil transferring meansextending from said coiling block and including an open framework ofoutside diametersubstantial- 1y equal to the inside diameter of thecoil, said open framework including a plurality of guiding memberssecured to said coiling block at one of their ends and extendinglongitudinally from said coiling block and uniformly curving withrespect thereto toward the ground, and a stop mounted on one of saidguiding members and manually movable into position to be abutted by thecoil on said block, and held in position on said guiding member byfrictional engagement therewith, and also being manually movable intoposition to allow the coiled wire to pass thereby for dischargetherefrom to the ground.

5. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil and intransferring the coil onto a wire receiving reel, a winding memberjournaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, power means forrotatably driving said winding member, guide means mounted on saidwinding member and extending from one side thereof to the other andguiding the wire from one side of said winding drum and laying the wirein the form of a coil on the other side thereof, a coiling blockextending from said winding member in axial alignment therewith androtatably mounted at the other side of said winding member for freemovement about the axis of rotation of said winding member, coiltransferring means extending from said coiling block including aplurality of guiding members extending longitudinally from said coilingblock and secured to said coiling block in spaced relation with respectto each other and uniformly curving with respect to said coiling blocktoward the ground, and an open spider secured to the lower ends of saidguiding members and facing the ground in position to register with andextend over the upper end of a wire receiving reel and to discharge thecoiled wire from said coil transferring means onto said reel by gravity,and said reel being movable from beneath said coil transferring meanswithout stopping the reeling operation, by engaging said coiltransferring means and pivotally moving said coil transferring meansabout said transverse axis by movement of said reel with respect to saidcoil transferring means.

6. In an apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil andtransferring the coiled wire onto a wire receiving reel, a windingmember journalecl for rotation about a horizontal axis, power means forrctatably driving said winding member, guide means mounted on saidWinding member and extending from one side thereof to the other, toguide the wire from one side of said winding member to the other and laythe wire in coil on the other side of said winding mem-v ber, an axiallydisposed coiling block extending from winding member and underlying saidguide means and rotatably mounted for movement about the axis ofrotation of said winding member, coil transferring means extending fromsaid coiling block and including a plurality of 10 guiding memberssecured to said coiling block in spaced relation with respectto eachother and extending longitudinally from said coiling block and uniformlycurving with respect thereto to ward the ground and positioned bygravity to register with and extend over the upper end of a wirereceiving reel, to discharge the coiled wire from said winding blockonto said reel by gravity, said reel being removable from beneath saidcoil transferring means without stopping the reeling operation bypivotally moving said coiling block and coil transferring means aboutthe axis of rotation thereabout by engagement of said reel with saidcoil transferring means upon slidable movement of said coil transferringmeans transversely of the axis of rotation of said reel, and a stopmounted on one of said guide memhere for pivotal movement with respectthereto and manually movable into position to be abutted by and to holdthe coil in position on said block and into position out of the way ofsaid coil, to accommodate the coiled wire to pass thereby and along saidcoil transferring means onto said reel, said stop being held in positionon said re spective guide member by frictional engagement therewith andbeing slidably movable therealong as the coiled wire builds upthereagainst.

7. An apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil comprising a mainframe, a winding member journaled on said main frame for rotatablemovement about a horizontal axis, said winding member having an enteringend on one side thereof to which the wire to be coiled is trained and adischarge end on the other side thereof, a motor on said main frame forrotatably driving said winding member, a coiling block extending fromsaid winding member in axial alignment therewith, guide means on saidone side of said winding member and training the wire to be coiled tosaid one side of said winding member, other guide means mounted on theperiphery of said winding member and extending from one side thereof tothe other to lay the wire on said coiling block in the form of a coilupon rotation of said winding member, and coil transferring meansextending from and forming a continuation of said coiling block andhaving a discharge end portion directed toward the ground and comprisingan open framework slidably guiding and discharging the coiled wire fromsaid coiling block to the ground by gravity.

8. An apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil comprising a mainframe, a winding member journaled thereon for rotation about ahorizontal axis, a motor on said main frame for driving said windingmember, a coiling block in axial alignment with said winding member andextending from one side thereof and mounted for free rotatable movementwith respect to said winding member, guide means including a pluralityof guide sheaves training the wire to be coiled to the side of saidwinding member opposite side coiling block, other guide means includinga guide sheave mounted on said winding member for rotation therewith andextending from one side of said winding member to the other to train thewire outwardly along said winding member along one side thereof and overthe top thereof in overlying relation with respect to said coiling blockand lay the wire thereon in the form of a coil upon rotatable movementof said winding member, and coil transferring means extending from saidcoiling block toward the ground and comprising an open framework securedto said coiling block and forming a continuation thereof and terminatinginto a vertically extending discharge end portion opening toward theground for guiding and discharging the coiled wire from said coilingblock to the ground by gravity.

9. An apparatus for continuously laying wire in a coil and transferringit onto a wire receiving reel, comprising a main frame, a winding memberjournaled on said main frame for rotation about a horizontal axis, amotor on said main frame for driving said winding member, a coilingblock extending from one side of said winding member in axial alignmenttherewith and journaled for free rotation with respect thereto about theaxis thereof, a guide sheave positioned to train the wire to be coiledto the side of said winding member opposite said coiling block, anotherguide sheave mounted on said winding member for rotation therewith andextending from one side of said winding member to the other to train thewire outwardly along said winding member and over the top thereof intoan overlying position with respect to said coiling block and for layingthe wire thereon in the form of a coil upon rotation of said windingmember, and coil transferring means forming a continuation of andextending from said coiling block toward the ground and comprising anopen framework secured to said coiling block at one of its ends andextending therefrom and having a vertically extending discharge endportion opening toward the ground and positioned by gravity to extendover a wire receiving reel resting on the ground, and to discharge thecoiled wire from said coiling block onto said reel by gravity, and saidreel being removable from beneath said coil transferring means withoutstopping the reeling operation by pivotally moving said coiling blockand coil transferring means about the axis of rotation thereof effectedby engagement of said reel with said coil transferring means duringmovement of said reel with respect to said coil transferring means.

10. In an apparatus for coiling wire, a frame, a hollow horizontal shaftjournaled thereon, means for rotatably driving said shaft, a windingmember on said shaft adjacent one end thereof and rotatably driventhereby, guide means for guiding the wire through said shaft from oneend thereof toward said winding member, other guide means for guidingthe wire outwardly from said shaft and outwardly along and over saidwinding member to the opposite side thereof from said first guide means,and an axially disposed coiling block extending from the side of saidwinding member opposite from said first guide means and mounted for freerotatable movement with respect thereto about the axis of said windingmember, said coiling block being aligned with said other guide means tohave the wire laid thereon by rotatable movement of said winding member,and a plurality of guide stakes secured to and forming a continuation ofsaid coiling block and extending from said coiling block at an anglewith respect thereto and having a vertically disposed discharge endportion opening toward the ground and held in such a position bygravity, to guide and discharge the coiled wire from said coiling blockbeyond the ends of said stakes by gravity.

11. A wire laying apparatus of the class de-.

scribed including a hollow horizontal shaft, means for rotatably drivingsaid shaft, a winding member mounted on said shaft adjacent one endthereof for rotation therewith, a plurality of guide sheaves for guidingthe wire through said shaft and laterally therefrom to one side of saidwinding member, another guide sheave mounted on said winding member forrotation therewith and guiding the wire along one side of said windingdrum and acros sthe periphery thereof to the other side of said windingmember, an axially disposed coiling block in axial alignment extendingfrom said winding member and j0urnaled for rotation about an axiscoaxial with the axis of said winding member and underlying said otherguide sheave in position to have the wire laid thereon upon rotation ofsaid winding member, and guide stakes secured to and forming acontinuation of said coiling block and leading from said coiling blocktoward the ground and having an open spider on the ends thereof oppositesaid coiling block opening toward the ground, and said spider and guidestakes receiving the coiled wire from said coiling block and guiding anddischarging the coiled wire beyond said spider to the ground by gravity12. A wire-laying apparatus of the class described including a hollowhorizontal shaft, means for rotatably driving said shaft, a windingmember mounted on said shaft adjacent one end thereof for rotationtherewith, a plurality of guide sheaves positioned to guide the wirethrough said shaft to said winding member and radially therealong,another guide sheave journaled on said winding member for rotationtherewith and extending from one side of said winding member to theother for guiding the wire along said winding member and across theperiphery thereof, an axially disposed coiling block extending from theother side of said winding member and journaled for rotation about anaxis coaxial with the axis of rotation of said winding member, aplurality of spaced guide stakes secured to and leading from saidcoiling block and having an open spider on the ends thereof oppositesaid coiling block opening toward the ground, and a stop mounted on oneof said guide stakes for slidable movement therealong and controlled byfrictional resistance between said stop and the associated stake byengagement by a predetermined amount of wire on said block, said stopbeing manually movable about the associated guide stake into position tobe engaged by the wire on said block, and also being movable intoposition to accommodate the wire to freely pass thereby for discharge tothe ground by gravity.

GEORGE W. BELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 412,564 Tallman Oct. 8, 18891,007,039 McCullough Oct. 24, 1911 2,149,851 MacLeod Mar. 7, 19392,174,376 Bolton et a1. Sept. 26, 1939 2,216,224 Bruestle Oct, 1, 19402,357,065 Zaica Aug. 29, 1944

